LudumData

Bubble Boy by rjhelms

[raw]
made by rjhelms for LD 38 (COMPO)

Download: https://rjhelms.itch.io/bubble-boy (Windows only at the moment)
Source: https://github.com/rjhelms/LD38

TitleScreenBig2.png

Having spent your whole life in a bubble, it is time to escape your small world and see the much bigger world around you that you've only ever heard about.

Unfortunately, even with your bubble, your immune system is only so strong - and the world outside is full of threats.

Avoid the pollen, sneezes and bird droppings to clear each stage!

HOW TO PLAY

Bubble Boy supports both keyboards and gamepads. Press left and right to move, and "Fire" to jump.

Keyboard:

  • A/D - left/right
  • LCtrl - jump

Gamepad

  • Left analog stick / whatever it is on your gamepad - left /right
  • A / whatever it is on your gamepad - jump

These controls can be remapped in the launcher.

Gamplay video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBq5tv-jVSU

Original URL https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/bubble-boy

Ratings

Overall 434th 2.92⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 347th 2.96⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 396th 2.76⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 425th 2.88⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 464th 2.56⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Audio 220th 3.083⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Humor 107th 3.292⭐ 26🧑‍⚖️
Mood 430th 2.636⭐ 24🧑‍⚖️
Given 31🗳️ 36🗨️

Feedback

cookie
24. Apr 2017 · 02:06 UTC
I see "Press FIRE to begin" but I keep pressing stuff and nothing happens?
🎤 rjhelms
24. Apr 2017 · 02:11 UTC
@cookie - fire should be left-control by default
Ratbag
02. May 2017 · 03:54 UTC
@rjhelms, cool platformer. Nice sound and graphics too. Well done!
Jupiter_Hadley
03. May 2017 · 13:35 UTC
Challenging game! I included it in my Ludum Dare 38 compilation [video series](https://youtu.be/NY55jLVxX30), if you’d like to take a look :)
JanGamesDev
11. May 2017 · 03:48 UTC
Nice platformer, I like the way the player moves, I took me some time to notice what was hurting me. The camera movement felt a little choppy sometimes.
Level 4 beat me but the game was fun.
Veralos
11. May 2017 · 05:37 UTC
This is a neat game with a clever interpretation of the theme. I especially like how all the obstacles are themed around stuff that could make you sick. It's cool how the controls make it feel like you're rolling around in a ball, and its fun bouncing on top of stuff. I don't think it was necessary to have a limited amount of lives, though. The graphics aren't the best, but the music is pretty nice.
Smiling Cat Entertainment
11. May 2017 · 11:18 UTC
This is an interesting, unique little platformer. The bounce mechanic was fun. Sometimes the character seemed to do a super-high jump, not sure if that was intended since I could not do it reliably. Also I found that I could win most levels with minimal damage by just holding right and fire.

Overall, great job.
David Cookie
12. May 2017 · 15:17 UTC
Clearly, the most fun part is bouncing around, even on "enemies", and accumulate more and more energy in our jumps. I don't know if this last part was intended but it's really fun to jump off the screen :p
With that said, it clearly lacks some feedbacks / UI (an health bar would be cool for example, and some sounds).
The level design would be much more fun without all these walls imo. Your platformer is more fast paced and I'd really like to continuously jump without interruption. A sort of mix between Sonic and Tiny Wings.

Anyway, well done for a compo!
conrad123
13. May 2017 · 12:50 UTC
Nice game. I wasn't a big fan of the left control to jump, however. It felt awkward. I would have liked to have used the spacebar instead.
Alex Williams
13. May 2017 · 21:07 UTC
This was definitely up my alley. Absolutely love the them of him being in a bubble trying to avoid the germs, pollen etc. A great new mechanic for a platform game. I would love to see some slightly better graphics and the controls can get a little crazy at times, but awesome job!
Flaterectomy
14. May 2017 · 10:40 UTC
Pretty cute game, but from a premise standpoint, pollen and sneezy-snot seem like they'd be less problematic to me than pointy bramble bushes and other sharp objects would be. My first through was that this should've been a two-tired challenge, with the structural integrity of the bubble and risk of infection being two different threats. ;)

The controls were a little iffy, I ended up just speeding up and jumping over the level rather than through it as much as possible.

The graphics are simple but everything is pretty clear. The music works well and you have some decent sound effects.
madjackmcmad
15. May 2017 · 02:03 UTC
Nice work! Something about the jump physics was super jank, but in the context of being a bubble while avoiding pollen and bird poop, it all made sense. I enjoyed playing it! Good work and please keep it up.
fueelin
15. May 2017 · 06:12 UTC
Fun game! I enjoyed the jumping/bouncing physics and found myself going into Sonic the Hedgehog mode whenever possible - building maximum momentum and bouncing over all the jumps/threats. Really satisfying! I liked the music too... Nothing crazy, but it served its purpose.

Also, very glad you made the trigger for the end of the level taller than just the flag itself. That would have been super frustrating, given my previously-described bouncy strategy!
Porcus_Pie
15. May 2017 · 08:09 UTC
Neat game, unique style and concept. The jumping and bouncing around was really fun, and the context as also rather funny. The graphics, with the particles, also looked pretty good, but I wish they were more developed. At times the pure bounciness of the game, with the bubble, made it really hard to control and certain sections really hard to get through.
PietPtr
15. May 2017 · 08:27 UTC
Nice work on the sound track! The gameplay felt a bit hard, but I enjoyed myself.
pcmaster
15. May 2017 · 08:55 UTC
Treacherous birds and trees! :) Very nice, the movement/bounces of the ball is cool (and weird a bit). The music is awesome, graphics adequate! Good job.
namrog84
15. May 2017 · 09:15 UTC
bouncey bouncy bouncy! I am bubble boy!
btwj
15. May 2017 · 14:11 UTC
I like bouncing around. The game was a bit challenging to control at first as the bouncing around got a bit out of hand... I bounced off a wall and died :( As a platformer, it was implemented well, although there may have been room for a bit more variety (different platforms, moving ones, some kind of timer?). The idea of having the different enemies (the sneezing, birds etc) was pretty good. Graphics are decent, audio too. Congratulations and great job! :)
Florian van Strien
15. May 2017 · 14:46 UTC
The bouncing physics are really hard but also quite cool! A little more feeling of control might've been nice, though, sometimes it felt a bit luck-based. I didn't like having to restart each time I lost three lives, but I guess that is part of the retro feeling.
The graphics are quite nice for a compo game. I feel the use of the theme could've been a little bit better.

Minor points:
- Press FIRE to begin could've been worded a bit differently, made it seem like you could shoot (very minor and maybe subjective, I won't deduct points for this of course).
- I liked how you were consistent to one theme with the enemies!
nicruo
15. May 2017 · 22:56 UTC
Liked your game, but now I feel sick :P Really cool that we can jump on the birds to move across the map :D
csanyk
16. May 2017 · 01:15 UTC
I liked your take on the theme. It's silly.
Apostate Games
16. May 2017 · 03:38 UTC
Fun gameplay mechanics! Good job! :smile:

--------------------------------------------

Please check out ours:
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/plutus
ThatSnillet
16. May 2017 · 07:32 UTC
Cool idea! The game is fun, even if it is really hard. The pollen is really hard to avoid, but that is accurate to the real world, so i can't blame you for that. I love that you added controller support, it makes it more enjoyable. I never managed to get past level 4, but i liked what i tried.

Good job! (Check out my game if you have time, i need a few more votes before tomorrow)
DiegoCTorguet
16. May 2017 · 11:29 UTC
Fun to play and nice to see you've done the main topics of the game as different levels, music and sound effects. Good job.
gurkenlabs
16. May 2017 · 13:43 UTC
A fun game that doesn't really make anything wrong. The music is nice and the level design clever. There were some strange physical laws in this world (being able to jump from vertical surfaces felt strange, for example).
Kate Kligman
17. May 2017 · 07:20 UTC
- Love the intro screen -- it has such a classic NES feel to it.
- The flag and the use of hills gives this a Mario vibe.
- Love the mechanic of being blown off-stage at the end of each level.
- I know the controls can be remapped, but I would suggest changing the default control for jump from left CTRL to spacebar.